The Round Church is a large partially preserved early medieval Eastern
Orthodox church in Preslav, the former capital of the First Bulgarian
Empire, today a town in northeastern Bulgaria. Unearthed and first
examined in 1927–28, the church dates to the early 10th century, the
time of Tsar Simeon I's rule. Considered to be one of the most
impressive examples of medieval Bulgarian architecture, the church
takes its name from the distinctive shape of one of its three sections,
the cella (naos), which is a rotunda that serves as a place of liturgy.
The church's design also includes a wide atrium and a rectangular
entrance area, or narthex, marked by two circular turrets. The church
has been likened to examples of religious architecture from the late
Roman Empire, the Caucasus, and even the Carolingian Pre-Romanesque of
Charlemagne because of its characteristic plan, which is significantly
different from contemporaneous Bulgarian or Byzantine buildings. The
church's alternative name, the Golden Church, stems from its possible
and popular identification with a "new golden church" in Preslav. The
Round Church's rich interior decoration, which makes ample use of
mosaics, ceramics and marble details, distinguishes it from other
churches in Preslav.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Round_Church%2C_Preslav>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1284:
The Statute of Rhuddlan incorporated the Principality of Wales into
England.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statute_of_Rhuddlan>
1875:
The first indoor game of ice hockey game was played at the Victoria
Skating Rink in Montreal, Canada, by James Creighton and McGill
University students.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_indoor_ice_hockey_game>
1924:
The Free State of Fiume , a short-lived independent free state located
in the modern city of Rijeka, Croatia, was annexed by the Kingdom of
Italy.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_State_of_Fiume>
1943:
World War II: During a German aerial attack on London, England, 173
people were killed in a stampede while trying to enter Bethnal Green
tube station, which was being used as an air raid shelter.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bethnal_Green_tube_station>
1951:
Jackie Brenston, with Ike Turner and his band, recorded "Rocket 88",
often cited as "the first rock and roll record", at Sam Phillips'
recording studios in Memphis, Tennessee, US.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocket_88>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
insurgent (adj):
[[rebellious
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/insurgent>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
The proper method for hastening the decay of error, is not, by brute
force, or by regulation which is one of the classes of force, to
endeavour to reduce men to intellectual uniformity; but on the contrary
by teaching every man to think for himself.
--William Godwin
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/William_Godwin>